Artist in Residence Program

Since 2017 the Library has worked with artists in residence on creative projects on and off site. Residencies are developed in consultation with community partners to reflect evolving approaches and priorities.  

Seattle artist Romson Bustillo was our 2019 Artist in Residence. His project “Proximity Modifier Project IV” used images and printmaking to explore how individuals, communities and organizations like libraries share space together.

In the fall of 2018, we partnered with yəhaw̓ (pronunciation: yahowt), an Indigenous-led arts project, to celebrate Indigenous creativity and environmental equity. Our artists in residence included Native Kut, Fox Spears, and Roldy Aguero Ablao.

In connection with our year-long series about criminal justice in 2017, we collaborated with Creative Justice, an arts-based alternative to incarceration for young people in King County. We co-presented artwork by their Youth Leadership Board in an exhibit called “Someday We’ll All be Free.”